Artios Pharma, a biopharmaceutical company targeting cancers, has raised £87 million in Series D funding.
The Cambridge MedTech, aiming to realise the therapeutic power of targeting the DNA damage response in cancer, said the oversubscribed financing would enable it to expand the clinical evaluation of its lead program, alnodesertib, to enrol additional patients in each of second-line pancreatic cancer and third-line colorectal cancer.
The program was recently granted US FDA Fast Track Designation for this purpose.
Artios recently reported that alnodesertib, in combination with low-dose irinotecan, demonstrated a 50% confirmed overall response rate in patients with ATM-negative solid tumours at the recommended Phase 2 dose in the STELLA Phase 1/2a trial.
There are currently no approved therapies specifically for patients whose tumours harbour ATM-deficiency, a population where alnodesertib has demonstrated durable responses across eight different solid tumours, it said.
The round was co-led by founding investor SV Health Investors and new investor RA Capital Management, with participation from new investor Janus Henderson Investors and broad support from Artios’ existing investors.
The proceeds from the financing will also be used to initiate a Phase 2 randomized clinical trial for Artios’ second potential first-in-class candidate, ART6043, in patients with BRCA-mutant HER2-negative breast cancer who are eligible to receive a PARP inhibitor.
“This Series D accelerates our potential path to registration for both alnodesertib and ART6043, broadening development for the next generation of DNA damage response (DDR) therapeutics to indications among the highest of unmet need across pancreatic, colorectal, and breast cancers, where median survival is often measured in months,” said Mike Andriole, CEO of Artios.
“As we address these indications and prepare for others, I would like to thank our existing investors, led by SV Health, for their ongoing support, and also our new investors, RA Capital Management and Janus Henderson Investors, for joining our mission to bring these potential medicines to patients as quickly as possible.”
The investors who supported the Series D round include Andera Partners, Avidity Partners, EQT Life Sciences, Invus, IP Group plc, Janus Henderson Investors, M Ventures, Novartis Venture Fund, Omega Funds, Pfizer Ventures, Piper Heartland, RA Capital Management, Sofinnova Partners, Schroders Capital, and SV Health Investors.